As it is described, the system is not designed to prevent direct impact from shells or shrapnel; rather, it is designed to protect a target — such as a vehicle or building — from the damaging effects of shockwaves from a nearby impact.

The patent is for a shockwave attenuation system, which consists of a sensor capable of detecting a shockwave-generating explosion and an arc generator that receives the signal from the sensor to ionise a small region, producing a plasma field between the target and the explosion using lasers, electricity…